General Chat

Hi, I have googled and can't make any sense of it, right here goes, my son has come home with maths homework, he has a grid with these figures

across the top, running left to right: 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 5/10, 6/12, 7/14, 8/16.

running down the left side of the page: 1/4, 3/4, 1/3, 2/3, 1/5, 1/6,1/8, 1/10, 1/20.

he has to fill in the columns with the equivalent fraction???? Does anyone understand this please?

He's only 9....I don't remember doing this at school many moons ago!

Thanks for any help at all??

pass!!!!

Thanks Ann lol!

I can only state the obvioous the fractions across the top of the page are all equal to 1(2

Poor lad only 9 getting homework like that !!

Love Mary xx

Thanks Mary, I am sure I didn't learn this at school, poor boy hasn't got a clue where to start and neither have I, hopefully a maths teacher will come along any time now...........lol

Found this n it makes sense seeing a diagram with it but obviously I cant draw the diagram....

Hope it makes sense to you....??

The best way to think about equivalent fractions is that they are fractions that have the same overall value. Equivalent fractions represent the same part of a whole. For example, if we cut a pie exactly down the middle, into two equally sized pieces, one piece is the same as one half of the pie. And if another pie (the same size) is cut into 4 equal pieces, then two pieces of that pie represent the same amount of pie that 1/2 did. So we can say that 1/2 is equivalent (or equal) to 2/4.

I hope not or I'll have to stand in the corner again!!!! If you're out there Miss Chilcott - clear off!!!!

Thanks Christine, can't for the life of me work out, ie;if you take the two first figures: 2/4 and 1/4 how to work out the equivalent???

Blimey

ie...if you cut the same pie into 6 pieces, each half of the pie represents 3 x 1/3 so 3/3 is also equal to 1/2 & 2/4....

Or if you cut it into 8 pieces, each half will be 4 x 1/8 making 4/8 equal too.....

???

Hi Jules, got you so far but how on earth do you work out the equivalent of 2/4 and 1/4 and so on.......thanks for your help,

Jules....oh dear god I have a headache!

1/4 = 2/8
3/4 = 6/8
1/3 = 2/6
2/3 = 4/6
1/5 = 2/10
1/6 = 2/12
1/8 = 2/16
1/10 = 2/20
1/20 = 2/40

Please wait and see if anyone else comes up with the same answers.
Blooming hard for a 9 year old though.
Love Mary xx

Pmsl ... the Jelly Beans represent the brains of the presidents...lol

Thanks everyone, I'll keep you posted if you all got it right!

You're welcom TF...good luck n I agree, a bit hard for a 9year old..!!

Of course you all will! Brilliant, thanks!

Awww i cant help,
my brain goes into neutral when it comes to numbers!

sorry
xxx

Former primary teacher wading in to help. LOL

First of all don't panic.

I just drew out the grid and I must admit I wouldn't have taught it quite like this but as the top row are all equal to a half I assume that all fractions on the second row must equal a quarter then third row three quarters and so on.

Looking at the second row........you can't do a quarter in sixths but under the eights column you could put 2 eighths. Tenths doesn't work but under the twelfths you could put 3 twelfths. Fourteenths doesn't work but 4 sixteenths make a quarter.

I then assume that on the third row down you are trying to do three quarters all the way across . This works in the eights column because 6 eighths are the same as three quarters. You can do it on that row for any column where the number at the bottom (denominator) is divisible by 4.

On the thirds row you need to look for denominators divisible by 3

and so on.

Does that help? if not I'll send you more info.

Sue
x

Sue, that does help an awful lot, many thanks to you, off to explain it to my little one,

Thanks again

TF

Sue's explanation is probably the right one seeing that she was a teacher. but what I wanted to say is, only let him put down what you find on here if you can explain it to him and he understands. if he doesn't and his teachers asks him how he did it he'll have to be prepared to say 'my mum's cyber friends helped'. Has he had it explained at school and not understood? I just want him to understand and not just copy. My failing in maths was that I never understood first or last and was always scared to say so.

ann
Glos